Verbena
by David Shigure
Summary: One huge crossover story, including characters from other anime/games including Tenchi Muyo!, Final Fantasy and Shuffle!. Welcome to Verbena! David Shigure's first story...
1. Prophecy

Verbena

Chapter 1: "Prophecy"

A white light streaked across the sky, followed by a dull explosion of thunder. Rain lashed against the misty windows, and the sky was as dark as night.  
It wasn't very late, around 3pm but the angry clouds had blocked out the sunlight.

It had been the last lesson of the day, everyone had been drifting off, waiting for the lesson to finally end, the weather dampening their mood further.  
Ash Shigure had drifted off to sleep, the classroom had been warm and cosy, and the day had worn him out. He was sleeping, arms crossed with his head on top, snoring quietly, mumbling incomprehensible words.

A red headed girl, two seats behind him, had her eyes fixated on him, she was miles away and in blissful ignorance.

"Misty Waterflower!! Concentrate girl, staring at Ash is not going to help you Manipulate elementa!!". Miss Kiriko hollered across the room. Misty's face turned a shade of crimson and mumbled " Yes, Miss".

Misty turned back to the exercise she was meant to be doing, still blushing from what Miss Kiriko had said. She hadn't even realised she was staring at him.

Elementa was the name given to the range of abilities or elements humans are born with, written into their genetic code, predetermined by fate, or otherwise known as the Elementa Zodiac. There were seven elements;

Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, Shadow, Rock and Earth. Humans are usually born with ability to utilise a single element, with the exception being water /ice where bearers have the ability to harness both.  
Misty had Water and Ice as her elementa's, the same as Ash did. Which might be a reason as to why Misty was attracted to him, they shared the same love of water and ice.

Some lucky humans are born with the ability to use more than one element, like fire and lightning, but, according to legend, only one person has been able to use all seven elements, and he was thought to be a god or a demon of some sort. Nobody knew his name, he was just referred to as the King of Gods.

Misty had heard of the legend repeatedly, but she was intrigued by what it said. She had an adventurous personality, which she obtained whilst growing up with Ash and liked to pick up on anything mysterious.

"I enjoy Elementa and being able to use it, but Manipulation has got to be the damn most boring thing ever" she sighed. She was still thinking about Ash, her face turning rosy red as she felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking about him.

They had both grown up together as childhood friends, so she was pretty friendly with him already. But as she grew up, she became attracted to his dark, black messy hair which always came over his eyes, which were golden and his athletic physique, he was pretty tall for his age as well. Misty had red hair which she had tied in a sidewards ponytail and ocean blue eyes. She had a slim, smooth body and had great breasts, well, in her opinion anyway. "Maybe one day I'll put Ash on the spot and ask his opinion, that should be fun." She thought to herself with an evil smile.

At long last, the bell rang and the lesson ended. Miss Kiriko dismissed the pupils and the pupils began packing away. Ash was still slumped over his desk, snoring away. Misty went over and prodded him in the back, "Hey wake up! You wanna spend the night with Kiriko?". He hadn't budged, Misty decided to go for a different tactic. She started blowing on the back of his neck, the soft jet of air tickling the hairs on his neck. He started groaning and scratched his neck, Misty kept blowing and eventually he woke up, "Who...wha..?" he mumbled sleepily. Misty then unleashed her favourite attack on Ash, tickling him until he cried laughing.

"Misty, no...please, your so mean, sneaking up on me sleeping" he choked, trying to resist another wave of tickles. "I could of left you here to sleep all night, that would be mean" she replied, keeping up her attack. "All right, Thank you already!!" he gave in, "That's more like it, now hurry up and get packed, we have to go".

It was still raining hard outside and Misty had forgot her umbrella. "You can share mine" Ash offered.  
Misty's house wasn't far from where he lived and she visited him every day anyway, he would drop her off home and try to find what he'd been looking for last night...

...

"It's been half an hour, where the hell is he!?" yelled Sia. She looked scary, a frying pan in her hand (which was steaming) and her long red hair, she looked a little demonic. Her hair reached her lower back and was tied with a hair band at the bottom, its colour was vivid, as red as a ruby. She had a soft, cute face with beautiful golden eyes and her long red hair came across her eyes when she was angry, making her look even cuter. Her shoulders weren't too far apart and her body was slim, with some incredible legs attached and she had a perfect breast size too, not too big but but too small.

Her expression was annoyed, her golden eyes blazing fiercely as they glared at a handsome, tall, brown haired and blue eyed man who was cowering in fear. "I dunno, maybe he's with Misty again?" he mumbled, "I'm sure he's fine...", he trailed off as Sia began to rage again, "That's all well and good but his dinner is gonna be freezing when he gets home." she yelled with a touch of anxiety in her voice.  
" David, sorry, you know I worry about him, him and Misty as well." she mumbled, "It's okay, don't worry about it, they'll be fine, they've gotten through hell before, that's why there pretty close...and we've looked after them well, right?" David said soothingly. "Yeah, I guess you right..." She said, lowering the frying pan.

...

Her heart was beating, faster and faster, she had her arm round Ash's waist, his arm round her shoulders, both under the umbrella, the rain crashing around them. It was quiet except for the rain and there was nobody else around as far as Misty could see. They walked through the narrow streets, not saying a word, enjoying each others warmth and company. Eventually they came to a little play park, surrounded by trees. It was too wet now, but it brought back memories for Misty...

Years ago, Ash and Misty would come here all the time and play, there weren't that many other kids around and they had known each other for years, they were the best of friends and they were inseparable, they played games together, pushed each other on the swings and hid under the trees when it started raining. Eventually, as they both grew older, they went to the play park less and less and spent more time round each others houses or going out together. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, just best friends, at least they were back then.

But as Misty and Ash became teenagers, Misty realised she had feelings for Ash, he had been the one boy she could rely on, relax with and could talk to about anything with. He had always been there for her, through all the bad and good. As Misty's affections grew, she began to appreciate Ash more and more. She had no idea how Ash felt about her, and she knew she would never be able to ask him, at least, not now...

The memory had made her smile as she remembered the past. The memories brought her even closer to Ash, she held him tighter. She wanted to stay with him forever. She knew she'd be home soon, she was dreading it already.

"Hey, you okay?"

Ash was looking at her, "Your smiling?".

"I was just remembering this old park, all the fun times we've had." Misty sighed dreamily.

"Hehe, yeah. This park has had some great times, we'll come back tomorrow, hopefully it won't rain again."

"Yeah...", Misty was still thinking about their childhood together.

Ash scratched his head. "Hey Misty, is your dad still on that business trip?", "Yeah, he's gonna be gone for at least another two months" she explained. "Why?" she added suspiciously. "Don't you get lonely? He's been gone for a month already." Ash already knew that Misty had lost her mother when she was younger, he had lost his own mother in the same incident eight years ago. "It does get a little lonely sometimes, that's why I come down and visit you so much."

"Maybe I'll visit you, give you some company tomorrow night or something, that sound good?" Ash asked. "uhh...uh..uh..sure, yeah sounds good too me" she stuttered, her face going crimson. "Great, I'll be round about 7, I'll bring a movie to watch as well ". She had the butterflies again, whizzing around her stomach a million miles an hour, she had Ash for the whole night to herself. She started having daydreams and was all smiles all the way up to her front door.

"See you tomorrow, then". He gave her a hug, she felt the warmth of his body and hugged him tighter. "Bye" she whispered. He let go and walked down her pathway towards the road, he waved goodbye and walked in the direction of his house. She watched him go, never taking her eyes of him, missing him like crazy already. Eventually he turned the corner and disappeared, she sighed heavily and walked inside into the warmth of her home, feeling lonely.

...

_Four gems for power, the power to remake the world.__  
Scattered, the gems hold equity within the elements.  
__Together, the gems unleash Yu Shikon.  
The curse of four souls, the curse of Chaos. _

_Light and Shadow, Shadow and Light.__  
There cannot be one without the other.__  
Divided, they cannot exist.  
But together, their might will destroy Chaos. _

_Light and Shadow, Shadow and Light.  
The ultimate elementa, the final defence. _

The girl looked up from the ancient book, "Hey sis, what is this?"

"It's an old legend or prophecy, by some old geezer years ago, uhhh his name was...uhhh Braska? Yeah, Braska, a high summoner back in the era of the war against Sin or something like that." The voice came from a girl who looked roughly fifteen or sixteen.

"But Ryoko, we have one of the gems that this legend talks about, don't we? Isn't it dangerous then?" The girl holding the book looked slightly panicked, the book shaking as though it was going to explode. "Rikku, you worry way too much, the prophecy said that Yu Shikon is only unleashed when the gems are brought together, we have only one, there's four gems in total, and it's our job to make sure the gems never become reunited, because we don't know who's meant to be the Light and the Shadow.". Ryoko explained with a determined look on her face.

Rikku's expression had eased "Thank the gods for that, Chaos doesn't sound like a lot of fun".

The stars glimmered and sparkled outside the cockpit. A planet was in front of them, a celestial blue and green planet. It was beautiful and calm. The planet Earth was the best place in the universe, at least, it was to the two girls gazing at it.

"The earth is so pretty" Rikku sighed "I wonder how the others are doing down there?"

"Yeah... feel like paying them a visit Rikku?" Ryoko asked slyly.

"Yeah!! oh please, please, please!! Big sis, I miss them so much..."

"Then let's go see them" Ryoko smiled.

Rikku, the hyperactive fifteen year old girl, was in charge of mechanics and engineering on the airship, Celsius, owned by Ryoko, her sister, who was also fifteen, but seemingly slightly more mature and darker. Rikku had bright blond hair, which came across her vivid green eyes and was bunched up in a ponytail which spread across her head instead of falling down. She was slim, busty with slim legs, she wasn't too tall but just right for a girl her age. Her elementa was mastery of Fire, which helped immensely with mechanical work, soldering and as a light source.

Ryoko, the captain of the ship, was taller, with turquoise hair that came across her back to her left, with her fringe slightly covering her golden eyes. She had wider shoulders and was bustier than her sister but still retained the slimness they shared.

Her elementa was rare, she had a mastery of Dark-type powers, illusions, smokescreens and arcana arts, black magic and demonic spells. This could intimidate people, but she was a nice person, a little crazy with her emotions and only used her elementa as a last resort.

The airship Ryoko and Rikku were on, the Celsius, was quite big for an airship, the size of a jumbo jet, with four mechanical arms which propelled the ship using elementa, an aura of blue, sparkly elementa coming from each arm, which had a rotor and was engineered to that the Celsius could hover, glide or fly straight, left right, up, down and backwards. The whole ship was hotrod red in colour and had enough weaponry on board to make the armies of the world look pitiful.

Suddenly a siren echoed throughout the Celsius's bridge, the mainframe lighting up the bridge red. Rikku hopped onto the hover chair in front of the mainframe and started typing frantically. "We're being targeted by the Kamidake, it's the Galaxy Police!!"

"The Kamidake?! The prize pig of the Jurain fleet? What the hell !?" Ryoko began to panic. The Kamidake was the best ship of the Jurain fleet, which was the elite force of the Galaxy Police and was only used to intercept high profile criminals wandering the galaxy, Ryoko and Rikku even knew the Captain personally.

A communications window flared on the monitor, a familiar face with a look of seriousness appeared. "Seina!! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Ryoko yelled. "You and Rikku have been charged with stealing the sacred gem of power, the Galaxy Police want you two apprehended and detained, with recovery of the stolen jewel, and i'm told that if met with resistance, my orders are to blast you into the Earth..." Seina mumbled "I really don't want to either, seeing as we're friends and all, can't you just hand the gem over and we can talk about this over doughnuts and sake?" He added desperately.

"As much as the thought of sake and doughnuts is tempting, coupled with the fact that I haven't eaten properly in days, you know I can't do that, but your more then welcome to take me and Rikku out to dinner" Ryoko said slyly

"Why can't you though? What's so important you can't trust the Galaxy Police to look after the gem? Is it that old prophecy?"

"Yes, it is the old prophecy, which is already began to unfold down on your home planet of Earth, do you want to see your world die? All you friends and family perish? Then let me go, say you never caught me, and I'll make sure this prophecy never happens." Ryoko pleaded.

"I'm sorry Ryoko, I just can't do that, I'm sorry..." Seina said, his face hidden in shadow "Forgive me. Amane! I want an Ion blast aimed at their one ready, knock out their right side engines." He commanded.

"Yessir" replied Amane, another familiar voice to Ryoko and Rikku.

"Amane! No!! Rikku! Shields up!!" Ryoko bellowed the last command.

"Ryoko, our shields won't hold up against their Ion blast, we'll have to make a break for the Earth!!" Rikku yelled back.

"Arghhh Seina you bastard, Tenchi and Yosho are gonna screw when I get back on Earth!! Rikku, forget the shields and move power to the engines!!"

"Yes Ryoko" Rikku replied.

The Celsius rumbled as the speed boost knocked Ryoko off her feet. "Shit, my head" she moaned, rubbing her head. A huge blast of green light zapped past the huge cockpit of the ship. "Seina, your going to fucking kill us!!"

Ryoko was beyond herself. "Then turn yourself in, I can't just sit back and let you girls go free, you two are the guardians of the gem, that I can understand, but can you understand that if I don't detain you, they'll kick me out of the GP!!" Seina shouted.

"So you'd rather put our lives in danger, then risk your hide over some job? Grow a spine man, if we die, your gonna regret this for the rest of your god damn life!!"

"Entering the Earth's atmosphere" Rikku said, sounding like computer for all her calmness.

The cockpit began to glow red, coupled with the green flashes whizzing past. Seina's face was still on the monitor and he seemed to be thinking over what Ryoko just said. Suddenly the ship rocked as a huge explosion came from the right arm of the ship. Ryoko watched as it fell apart and drifted into space. The ship lurched out of control, Rikku was screaming, ("So much for being calm" Ryoko thought to herself.) the siren was giving Ryoko a headache as the ship plummeted to the Earth.

She could see mountains, the ocean, all the while holding on to the ship's monitor for dear life. It came closer and closer, suddenly she recognised the land, it was Japan. "What a coincidence." She thought to herself. "Just where I needed to go."

They were headed for Okayama, they were losing altitude, suddenly Ryoko could see cars and houses and people. Then she saw a mountain with a shrine, which looked familiar to her, it came closer and closer. Now she remembered it.

When Ryoko had come to Earth before, she had lived not far from this Shrine, at another Shrine called the Masaki Shrine. This must be the Shigure Shrine. It had a big lake in front of it, with a mountain behind it with the actual shrine at the top.

The Shigure's lived by the foot of the steps, near the lake in a big house, it was a nice house, and had a great view over the lake and of the mountains, but it was nothing compared to the view at the top of the mountains.

Ryoko suddenly saw the lake approaching fast. "Ugh, a wet landing..." she grumbled. Suddenly the Celsius crashed, something exploded, Ryoko went flying and everything went black...

* * *

Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed that, considering this was my first ever fan fic, that seemed great to me. Give me good reviews guys!!

Will Ryoko survive the Crash? Will Rikku still look beautiful? Will Misty pluck up the courage to ask Ash the Question?...All these and more answered in Chapter 2 of "Verbena".

Characters in the story were based off characters in anime's and games I had played, similar to the location used.

The location I got the idea from Tenchi Muyo! As well as the character idea for Ryoko. Great anime, go watch it...now!

Ash and Misty were from Pokemon, which is still great...even though I really should stop watching that now...

David Shigure is a cameo of me in the story, I just had to be in my own story:D

you may use him, but notify me first.

Sia Lisianthus is based off the Sia in Shuffle!

Verbena academy is also from Shuffle!

Shigure Shrine is my idea, use if you guys want, but same as before, tell me about it.

The Celsius and Rikku are based from Final Fantasy X, X-2.

Elementa and the Elementa Zodiac are my idea, you may use, please tell me about it, blah blah

I think that just about wraps it up, oh and for the locations and characters that arn't mine, I don't own, their not mine, there from their respective game/ anime whatnot above, acknowledged.

Until next time;)

David Shigure


	2. The Winds of Change

Verbena

Chapter 2: "The Winds of Change"

A storm was blowing ferociously, the wind and the rain battering the wrecked, half sunk airship. The other half was bellowing smoke, lightning illuminating the dented panels and shattered wind shields. It looked like a write-off from the outside. The inside, surprisingly, had fared a lot better, the brunt of the impact had been taken by the ship's hull. There were shattered monitors, red lights flashing, alongside a long, wailing siren, sparking equipment and a heavy smell of burning in the air.

Rikku slowly opened her eyes to the scene. She was on the floor of the Celsius, lying on her back, staring at the roof of the bridge. Her body hurt all over, her legs had a sharp pain coursing through them, the rest of her body had a dull ache running throughout. She realised the floor was tilting slightly, the Celsius has landed at an angle.

She attempted to push herself up, her sore arms complaining about the effort. She managed to get on two feet, stumbling slightly. "Oww..." She groaned. She turned to face one of the shattered monitors, to check her reflection. It was a little scary. She had blood running down the side of her face, her arms and legs were covered with cuts and bruises and her hair was messy. She turned away, dreading to think how long it would take to fix the mess.

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head.  
_Where's Ryoko? _  
She hadn't seen her yet, and last she could remember, she had been in the bridge with her. There was no sign of her cyan-haired sister anywhere.

She walked out of the bridge towards the medical bay. If Ryoko had regained conciousness and was injured, this would be the first place to check. Rikku saw a droplet of blood on the floor, followed by a lot more blood. Rikku was suddenly frightened. It looked like Ryoko had dragged herself towards medical absolutely leaking blood. She ran towards the Medical Bay entrance and shoved the door open.

Blood patches in the shape of footprints were everywhere, the most prominent leading towards a hover bed. Ryoko was lying on top, covered in bandages, soaked from her own blood, unconscious. It looked like she had treated herself, removing her top and treating the wound, then wrapped it up in a lot of bandages, from her breasts to her abdomen.

Rikku ran to her side and started calling her name. "Ryoko! Ryoko! Wake up!!"

Ryoko didn't respond, so Rikku started checking her vitals. Her pulse was slow and her breathing was irregular. At least she was alive but in a very bad condition. Suddenly, Ryoko started to stir and groaned. "Rikku, is that you?"  
"Yes, its me. What happened?" Rikku was trembling, her voice was stuttering.

"I don't know, all I can remember is the impact, getting thrown across the room, something sharp clipped me and then I think I hit a wall and passed out". Ryoko said calmly. "Are you in a lot of pain?" Rikku asked. "Not right now, but when I woke up before, my side was on fire. But don't worry Its not too...ugh..." Ryoko's head lolled and her sentence was cut short. She looked dizzy and was trying to focus. "Ugh...my head...Rikku, hows the ship?"

"From the looks of things, in a bad way. It doesn't look like we'll be getting off this planet any time soon" Rikku said in a worried voice. "Hehe, great..." She coughed twice, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Rikku let out a short gasp. "Don't worry, I've been through worse before...cough...Rikku, we need to let Tenchi know we're here, he can help us and hopefully get the GP off our backs." Ryoko explained.

"Okay Ryoko, I'll take a look around outside the ship, a lot of our communications equipment is smashed, its gonna take a while to repair. I'll just have to look for Tenchi myself, you're gonna be okay, right sis?" Rikku still had a worried tone. "Yes, I'll be fine, I promise, now get going, Seina could be back any minute, checking the mess he left behind". Ryoko said with annoyance.

"Okay then, bye". Rikku scooted off, leaving Ryoko by herself with a head full of revengeful thoughts and the sound of the storm outside.

...

Smoke was drifting over the treetops. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the Shigure Shrine. Ash was running as fast as he could. He had heard a screeching sound coming from the sky as he left Misty's house. He had looked up to see a glowing red fireball shooting from the sky. He couldn't make out what it was exactly. He had followed its path from the sky with his eyes and saw that it landed not far from the lake, he had guessed. The explosion when it came was incredible, a shock wave of kinetic energy had blasted through the forest path he had been walking through and had almost knocked him off his feet. Ash began to panic.

_What if it hit my house? Sia and David...I hope their okay. _

The wind was getting stronger, Ash knew something was going to happen, it felt like a wind of change, or foreboding, when you know something bad is just around the corner. He just hoped that he was wrong...

It took Ash another five minutes of full out sprinting before he saw what had happened. A large aircraft of some soft had crashed into the lake, and had skidded towards the shore. It was something out of a space movie, it was hotrod red all over and had four arms. It reminded Ash of a weirdly shaped Harley Davidson. The aircraft or airship was smoking badly in some places with sparks flying from various panels all over the hull. Ash walked close enough to touch it, it was still warm.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Ash looked up. Somebody was standing on the flight deck of the ship and was tottering towards the shore. Because of the landing, the deck was on a tilt, and the mysterious person, slipped and slid down the deck, before landing in the water with a splash.

Ash ran over. The mysterious person was actually a girl, who looked roughly about his age, with bright blond hair which had a ponytail that came across her head.

_She's pretty cute... _Ash thought.

He also noticed that she had blood running down her forehead and had cuts and bruises all over.

_She must have been in the crash_.

The girl stirred and opened her eyes, They were bright green and slightly mesmerizing. "Are you okay?" Ash asked. "I..I think so..." The girl stuttered. Suddenly she moaned and kneaded her forehead. "Help..." She uttered the single syllable before passing out. "Crap! No! Don't conk out on me!" Ash cried.

Ash picked her up and brought her to dry land. She was surprisingly light and seemed like a kitten in Ash's arms. There were a few trees on the shore, so Ash brought her there to shield her from the storm. They were both drenched and the girl seemed to be shivering.

_How did I end up in this? _Ash thought to himself.

The girl stirred again, those bright green eyes opening again. "You feeling better?" Ash questioned. "Yeah...I think so" she replied shakily. "You looked a little rough, were you in that thing?" Ash pointed in the direction of the wrecked ship. She looked up "Ugh, yeah...awwww man, its a complete wreck..." A tear came out of the corner of one of her eyes. Ash felt a little uncomfortable, he didn't know what to say, the ship did look like hell and so there was little to comfort the girl with. He suddenly noticed that the girl's head was still resting on his lap. His heart beat suddenly quickened. "So..uhhh...what's your name?" He asked.

"Rikku...what's yours?" She replied.

"Ash."

"That's a nice name, Ash..." She closed her eyes. "Hehe thanks, your name's nice too." Ash replied awkwardly. Rikku smiled, then suddenly shot upright. "Ryoko!!" she cried. "Ryoko? Who's that?" Ash asked.

"It's my big sister, she was injured and she asked me to go look for someone while she stayed on the airship. But she was hurt pretty badly, a big wound to her stomach!"

"Crap, We've got to get her out of there!" Ash shouted as he ran towards the airship. "Rikku, you stay here and stay still, your still injured too! I'll go get Ryoko!"

"Ash, No!! It's too dangerous!!" Rikku screamed, but her words were drowned by the storm and Ash had already gone inside.

...

"Hey!"

A man's voice called above her.

"Hey!!"

It said it again, only this time more anxiously.

"Wake up, Sia"

Sia opened her eyes. She was in the living room, lying on the sofa, whilst David was kneeling by her side, he had a bruise on his forehead. Suddenly, she remembered. A big explosion. A huge shock wave. Then it had all gone black.

"Wha...What happened?" she mumbled. "Something crashed into the lake, something huge, it looks like an airship, something out of a space movie, it's a wreak. I was gonna go out and check it after you came round." David explained.

"Is anything broken?" Sia asked sleepily. "Nope, we're lucky, the shock wave seemed to go the opposite direction from us." He said with a smile. Suddenly Sia sat up "Where's Ash!?" she cried. David's smile dropped "I don't know, He hasn't come home yet..."

A silent tear appeared from the corner of her eye "Ash...please...no...anything but Ash...". Sia buried her head into David's shoulder and let loose a tsunami of tears, tears of agony. David held her close and looked out of the windowed doors, beyond the decking, towards the lake, towards the wreck of the ship.

_He can't be...He's still out there, I can feel it..._

_He just has to be..._

_..._

Ash was running through the ruins of the Airship. He had just realised that he had no idea where he was going. He decided to make it to the bridge.

"_As good a starting point as any." _He figured.

Ash entered what looked like the bridge. A huge cockpit in front, completely shattered. Rain was pouring in, lightning lit up the wreckage, and revealed what looked like blood. Ash was suddenly felt terrible, she must be in a lot of pain. "Ryoko..." He murmured.

"That would be me." Ash jumped out of his skin as he turned to look behind him. A girl, about his age, was standing behind him, supporting herself against the ship wall. She was tall, just a little smaller than Ash and she had cyan hair, which slightly reminded Ash of a crab, but it looked really nice on her. She was bustier than Rikku and had curvier hips. Her torso was covered in blood-stained bandages and seemed to be shivering from the cold. Ash looked at her face. She had golden eyes, _"Just like mine." _Ash thought. Her ears were long and pointed. She had a pretty face and Ash was seemingly mesmerized. "Who are you?" The cyan haired girl asked suspiciously. "Ash...Ash Shigure." He replied.

"Heh...a Shigure eh? What a coincidence..." the girl muttered. "You must be Ryoko then?" Ash guessed. "Yeah, I'm Ryoko, how do you know that?" she asked. "Your...uhh..sister I think, Rikku told me, she's outside the airship, waiting for us, I came in looking for you." Ash explained. "She's outside?" Ryoko seemed hopeful. "Yeah, she's probably worried sick, lets go."

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit and the ship lurched. Ryoko stumbled forward, Ash grabbed her to stop her from falling. Her face was inches from his, her eyes looking deep into his. Ash's heart had begun pumping crazily.

"Your eyes...there just like mine...beautiful" She whispered. Her face was moving closer to his, her eyes slowly shutting. Ash was paralysed, he was completely frozen. Her lips brushed against his, they were soft, smooth. Ash returned the kiss, holding it for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, the ship lurched again, Ash and Ryoko broke apart and stumbled. "Time to go" Ash yelled as the ship lurched violently. Ash took her hand and they started running through the tilting hallways of the ship.

"GO LEFT!!" Ryoko bellowed. They went left and Ash saw where he had entered, the door for the flight deck. There was a huge explosion behind him, he stumbled, twisted and fell onto his back, Ryoko fell on top of him. They both looked down the long hallway they had just run through. It was in flames, long bolts of electricity, like whips, were flowing through a gap made by the explosion. Ash could see the lake, illuminated by the fire and lightning outside. Ash looked at Ryoko. "We're gonna have to jump through that gap into the lake, the flight deck's door is jammed, you reckon your up for it?"

Ryoko nodded silently.

"All right then, lets go for it!!" Ash stood up and helped Ryoko to her feet. Another explosion rocked the ship. Ryoko stumbled into Ash yet again. They looked into each others eyes again. Ash could feel the heat rising in his face. Ryoko gave him a quick kiss. "Good luck, Ask" She smiled. "You too, Ryoko." Ash smiled back.

The ship rocked again as Ash began to run. "Hold on, Ryoko!!" Ash shouted as the huge ship groaned.

Explosions, windows breaking, monitors sparking and glass sparkling everywhere from lightning flash created a sort of rollercoaster ride as they ran towards the gap in the wall. It was a ring of flame, like the ones they use in stunts sometimes. Ash suddenly felt like everything was in slow motion as they flew through the flaming hole. Ash shut his eyes as he braced for the landing, he could feel the scorching heat. Another explosion rocked the ship behind him, flame shooting out of the hole they had just dived through. Suddenly, there was a huge splash and he was dragged underwater. Luckily, it wasn't too deep so Ash could keep his head above the water, Ryoko was still holding on to him for dear life. They had landed just outside the ship, into the lake. The flames lit up the sky, the sound of a crackling fire was all they could hear, the ship was almost completely engulfed in flames. The storm was doing its best to help extinguish the flames, but it didn't seem to be having much of an effect.

Two of the four arms on the ship had broke off, the ship had lost balance and tilted on its side. There were big rips in the hull and electricity stormed all over the ship in huge bolts.

"Ash!! Ryoko!!" Rikku's voice seemed distant, but Ash could tell that the girl was beside herself. With Ryoko still clinging on to him, he swam to the shore. Rikku spotted him and burst into tears. "Ash...I.. I thought you had died, and Ryoko...Ryoko!!" Rikku had found her sister, shivering, locked onto Ash's back.

"Let's take her under the trees" Ash yelled above the storm. Rikku hooked an arm under Ryoko and between them, they dragged Ryoko over to the little shelter of tree's that Ash had taken Rikku earlier, what seemed like an eternity ago.

...

"David!! The lakes on fire!!" Sia was screaming. "I know, I know!! I'm trying to get hold of Misty!!" David yelled back from the hall. He had a phone in hand and was desperately ringing Misty's number. It could be there last chance, last hope of seeing him again...

...

The phone shrilled. Misty was in her living room, watching a romantic film, still thinking about Ash. With a sigh, she picked herself up. "All right, all right, I'm coming already" Misty grumbled _"Who could be ringing this late at night?" _Misty thought.

She picked up the receiver. "Hello, Misty speaking, who is..." She was cut short by a desperate voice on the other end.

"Misty!? Is Ash there with you?!"

"Uhhhh...no...he left about two hours ago...why, what's happened?" Misty asked, feeling a sense of dread.

"There's been an explosion, some sort of aircraft hit the lake, and Ash hasn't come back home yet..."

Misty was shocked, her mind had gone horribly blank.

_Ash...No..._

"Misty, are you still there? I'm gonna go out and look for him, I might need some help, could you come?"

A spark of hope ignited Misty's resolve. "Yea..Yes, of course, I'll be over in 5 minutes."

Misty hung up the phone and raced upstairs, still in shock. Her mind was throwing horrible scenario's. Ash's lifeless corpse, a huge explosion. Then suddenly, his smiling face burst out onto her mind. She knew he was still alive, somehow. She could feel it.

She got changed quickly, throwing off all her pyjamas and grabbing clothes out of her wardrobe. She quickly pulled on combat trousers, forgetting to put on underwear in her haste and quickly pulled on a black t-shirt(also forgetting her bra) and put on a jacket to protect her from the storm.

She ran downstairs, grabbed her keys and her phone and opened the door. The storm was ferocious, how was she ever going to find Ash in this storm? She quickly shut the door and grabbed her bike, a present from Ash she remembered, he broke her old one and bought it as a replacement. The thought disappeared as she raced through the old forest path.

...

Ash, Rikku and Ryoko were all sitting against the tree, Ash was in the middle, exhausted from his actions, watching the flames of the ship and the storm. Rikku and Ryoko had fallen asleep on his shoulders. He sighed. "_What am I gonna do with them?"_

"_I could bring them back to the house I guess, Its gonna take a good deal of explaining though..."_

Ash had decided, he would bring them back to his house. It was still cold and the storm was somehow worsening.

"Ryoko, Rikku. Wake up, we need to get away from here." Ash whispered softly. "Where are we going?" Rikku yawned. "I'll take you to my place, to get out of the storm. We can also treat Ryoko's wound there."

"Sounds good to me" Ryoko said sleepily. They all stood up, Ryoko with a little help from the others. They all turned around to look at the ship one last time. "We'll come back tomorrow" Ash said. Ryoko and Rikku murmured in agreement, a little sadly. They turned round and, whilst supporting Ryoko, started towards Ash's house.

They hadn't gone more then five metres when suddenly a cry pierced the air. "Ash!!"

It was Misty, racing towards then on her bike, which Ash remembered he had got her. She skidded to a halt in front of the little group. "Ash!! Your alright!!"

"Yep, a little battered though." Ash grimaced.

"David rang me, said there was an explosion... and that you hadn't made it home..." She suddenly looked at her feet, a shadow appeared across her face, hiding her eyes. Rikku was standing holding Ryoko up, looking a little out of place.

"I thought...I...I thought you had died!!" She cried. She ran up and hugged him tight. "I thought...I thought I'd never see you again..." She was sobbing into his jacket, her speech punctuated between the tears. "It's alright Misty, I'm fine, It's okay" Ash said soothingly, patting her back and returning her hug. They stood there for a little while. Misty sobbing and Ash holding her tight, comforting her. Eventually Ash broke the silence " Hey Misty, we'd better let my big brother and Sia know that I'm okay, lets all go to my place, okay? You can stay the night, if you want..."

"Hehe okay, I'll call ahead, let them know I've found you. Oh and by the way Ash, you have to introduce me..." Misty explained, tears still in her eyes, looking expectantly at him "Oh, right, yeah. Misty, these two are Rikku..." Ash indicated the blond girl, "And Ryoko", the cyan haired girl, Rikku was supporting. "You two, this is Misty, we've been friends for years, I've known her for a long time. And, Misty, these two were in the airship that crashed, back at the lake."

"Ahhh, Nice to meet you" Misty said.

"Me too, I'm Rikku!" Rikku smiled.

Ryoko smiled and nodded her head, she was extremely tired and it hurt to talk.

While Rikku was looking after Ryoko, Misty sent her phone call ahead to Sia.

"Yeah, I found him, he's a little beat up and he's got two friends with him, they've got more serious injuries and one's got a serious wound to the abdomen, have you got a medical kit at home?  
Great, okay. Is David there? ...He's not?  
Alright, we'll probably bump into him on the way home. Yeah sure, I'll stay over for tonight. Thank you, Night."

"She sound okay?" Ash asked. "She sounds happy, she's gonna make us a little dinner, and she's got a med kit at home, oh and David's out looking for us, but he's only just left so we should run into him soon."

And soon enough, a giant, hulking form loomed from the shadows, carrying a flashlight. "Misty, is that you?" David growled, waving the flashlight in her face. "Yes, it's me along with Ash and a few of his friends"

David waved the torch over them. "Jeez, you all look as though you've been through a blender. I don't think I can stomach asking what happened. Lets just go home, get patched up and eat."

Eventually, the party made it to the Shigure house. Sia ran outside and hugged Ash, knocking the breath out of him. "Oh, Ash, I was so worried about you"

"I'm okay, Sia, I'm starving, what's cooking?"

The party moved indoors, chatting away. Ash and Misty helped Ryoko onto the sofa, whilst Sia grabbed the medical kit. While Ryoko was being treated, the others ate dinner.

"So there was explosions everywhere, me and Ryoko were flying all over the place." Ash was explaining what had happened.  
"Y'know Ash, you have the great ability to make little adventures sound like something out of Hollywood." Misty knew that Ash loved adding great depth to his stories.

"But you don't understand..." Ash began. "Yeah, yeah, lets just finish eating already, this story is gonna lose my appetite." David growled again.

After the meal had ended, Sia and Misty went upstairs to sort out beds, Rikku went along with them, after bidding everyone goodnight. Eventually, everybody had gone up to bed until it was Ash left with Ryoko, who was still lying on the sofa. "Are you gonna be alright? We've got a room upstairs for you, if you'd like." Ash offered. Ryoko groaned. "Alright, but I don't know if I can walk yet. Your gonna have to help me."

She lifted herself off the bed, moaning in pain, her eyes were tight shut. She got to her feet and stumbled slightly as she tried to get her balance. Ash quickly grabbed her arm to help her balance. Ryoko turned around to look at him. Her face had turned slightly red, "Thanks..." she whispered softly. "Its...okay." Ash murmured. He was looking into her radiant golden eyes again, he felt trapped in the glow they seemed to give off. "Thanks, Ash, for everything you did for me today..." Ryoko said quietly. "I probably would of died back there if it wasn't for you..."

"It's okay..I.." Ash trailed off. Ryoko's face was moving closer, moonlight illuminated her face from the window. Ash closed his eyes, lips slightly parted, awaiting the inevitable...

Behind the living room door, through the crack, ocean-blue eyes were watching, filling with tears.

Misty couldn't bear it, it was a searing agony, just watching them get closer...

She had to do something, she wasn't going to lose Ash to this alien woman.

"Hey, Ash! You gonna stay down here all night or what?" Misty entered the room, slightly overdoing the bravado. Ash jumped about ten feet in the air. "Misty! Wha..Wha.."

"I came down here looking for you. I couldn't get to sleep, so I just wanted to chat..." Misty trailed off, looking down at her feet again.

_She looks really upset...Something else is bothering her..._

"I'm sorry...Ash." Silent tears began trickling down her soft face. "I...I just...wanted to..." She stood there, in the living room, sobbing, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Ash walked over and hugged her tight. "Misty, I...I'm sorry, lets go to bed, and we'll all feel better in the morning, okay? Today has been busy, lets get some rest..." Ash tried to comfort her smoothly.

Ryoko stood silently behind him, Ash could feel her golden eyes shooting daggers at his back. Ash didn't know what to do. Misty looked up at him, her eyes still filled with tears. "Okay Ash, I guess...I guess you right. I'll go up first. Night, sweet dreams." she said softly. Unexpectedly, she gave him a quick kiss, and walked upstairs.

As soon as Ash heard her door slam, he turned round to face Ryoko. She looked a little sad, but with an awkward smile. "Well that was...uh...awkward." she mumbled. "Tell me about it..." Ash smiled. "You realise what this means, don't you?" Ryoko asked. Her voice was filled with warning and suddenly Ash was worried. "Uhh...no..." He mumbled sheepishly. "She has feelings for you, dimwit" Ryoko had a half-smile on her face. "But that presents a little problem..." she muttered to herself. "Why?" Ash had caught what she had said. But Ryoko just smiled, "Never mind about it. Ash, you look beat and we could both use a rest, lets get to bed."

After he had helped Ryoko to her room, Ash crept to his room. Misty had taken his sleeping bag and had squashed up right next to his bed. She looked fast asleep. Ash grabbed a vest and shorts and pulled off his clothes. He had pulled off his top, revealing an athletic body, with strong muscles over his body. Moonlight spilled across his chest as he moved towards the window, pulling the curtains across.

Misty, who hadn't actually been asleep, had her eyes half-open. She had been watching Ash silently. She admired his muscular chest and longed to be wrapped up against it. She watched as he crept towards the window and pulled the curtains across. A strong emotion was slowly building up inside her. She was dying to tell him how much she loved him. Her mind was begging for the warm embrace. Her body had been aroused and she wasn't sure she could control her emotions. Suddenly, Ash turned around and finished undressing, Misty couldn't keep her eyes off him for a second. Even his lower regions were teasing her. Misty could feel the hormones raging around her body. Her heart was racing, beating faster and faster. Her breathing had gotten quicker. She panicked, thinking Ash would notice and tried to calm herself down.

Ash had finished changing and leapt over Misty onto his comfy, double bed. He pulled the covers around him and lay his head to rest on the pillow. His mind raced with the events of the day. He had woken up this morning, got dressed, ate breakfast and gone to school with Misty. Just like every other day. But today was different. All of a sudden, he had an airship lying in the lake, two beautiful alien girls in his house, and Misty lying in his bedroom.

_Misty..._

He thought about the girl he had known all his life. He had met her when they were both about five years old. They had met in the little play park, not far from where Misty lived. Ash and Misty's mothers had been good friends as well. Ash's mother had long brown hair in a ponytail, with the same golden eyes Ash had inherited. Misty's mother looked just like Misty did, but with her hair down and with a slightly more mature face. Both mothers had gone to do the shopping, and left the little kids to play at the park, under Ash's brother, David's supervision. David was seven at the time and looked after Ash well.

Eventually as they grew older, the time they spent together increased, up to a point where Misty barely ever left Ash's side. Ash was always used to having her there. They were inseparable.

Eventually, they became teenagers. Puberty hit, and then suddenly, Ash had begun to look at Misty differently. She was a girl, a very good looking girl at that and was Ash's best friend. He realised that he had feelings developing for her. She was a good laugh, she was cute, her eyes sparkled and reminded Ash of the ocean. In classes, they would always work together, which almost always got them wet from the elementa they shared.

They had also been through all the bad times together, as well as the good. They had both lost there parents in an accident 8 years ago. Misty had cried and cried, Ash had tried to comfort her, but he had cried too. For weeks on end after the incident, they would walk together, hand in hand, towards the little play park, where they had first met. They spent hours reminiscing all the good memories they had shared, with their parents, until it all became just a faint memory.

Ash suddenly realised that he had been looking for something the day before, but he couldn't find it. He had promised himself to find it today, but had forgotten amongst all the commotion. He looked in the top drawer of the bedside cabinet and couldn't find it. He checked the middle drawer. "Bingo..." He whispered. In the drawer was a small golden locket with a silver chain, shaped like a heart. He picked it out and opened it. A picture of him and Misty when they were younger was in it. Next to the picture, there was an inscription which read;

_To my best friend, _

_Happy Birthday_

_love Ash_

_xx._

It was Misty's birthday in a few days, Ash had bought it for her, he knew that she would love it. The picture had Ash with his arm wrapped around Misty's shoulders, with a big cheesy grin and his eye winking. Misty also had a big grin and had her arm stuck out with her hand in the shape of a "V" for victory. Ash smiled and put it back in its little case, and back into the drawer. He turned over and looked across the edge of his bed down at Misty. Her eyes were shut and her breathing was slow. She looked beautiful in her sleep and had a small smile on her face, she seemed to be blushing a little.

_I wonder what she's dreaming about?_

"Ash..." She murmured in her sleep. Then she turned over and started snoring.

Ash smiled again, "Goodnight Misty, See you in the morning..."

He turned back onto his bed and thought about the next day. Lucky for him, the half-term break had begun. Not so lucky for him, the Masaki's were coming round and he had no idea how he was going to explain everything to them. But he was looking forward to meeting the gang again.

_Tenchi, Ayeka, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Sasami and...Crap!! Ryoko!!_

Ash sat bolt upright, his thoughts scaring him.

_Tenchi's Ryoko looks just like the Ryoko asleep upstairs!! Except the one upstairs looks a lot younger then Tenchi's Ryoko...  
Maybe...Maybe there sisters...or...ugh...I dunno, this thing is getting more and more confusing. _

Ash collapsed back down on his bed, his head thumping.

_I'll just have to worry about it tomorrow, there's too much happening right now..._

Ash's eyes shut slowly, he let loose a big yawn, and fell asleep.

* * *

5,600 something words, 10 pages...

I must have the worst case of Carpal Tunnel syndrome...but its been worth it, this fic is gonna be huge, and its only on chapter 2!!

Looking back on it, maybe a little confusing, but a lot will be answered in chapter 3

Misty and Ryoko, the love triangle with Ash, the heats just getting started!!

Next chapter, the complete original cast of Tenchi Muyo! The original gang are finally back in, including the original Ryoko. So who is this younger "twin"?

Make sure you read the next thrilling new chapter of "Verbena" !!

Chapter 3 "No need for the Masaki's!"

Until next time,

David Shigure

_now my hands get the rest they deserve..._


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